Earthquakes

Earthquakes - being among the most deadly natural hazards - strike without any prior
warning, leaving catastrophe in their wake with terrible loss of human lives as well as economic
loss.

Technically, an earthquake (also known as tremor, quake or temblor) is a kind of

vibration through the earth's crust. This vibration occurs as a result of powerful movement of
rocks in the earth's crust. These powerful movements trigger a rapid release of energy that
creates seismic waves that travel through the earth. Earthquakes are usually brief, but may repeat
over a long period of time. (Earth Science. 2001)

Earthquakes are classified as large and small. Large earthquakes usually begin with slight
tremors but rapidly take the form of violent shocks. The vibrations from a large earthquake last
for a few days known as aftershocks. Small earthquakes are usually slight tremors and do not
cause much damage. Large earthquakes are known to take down buildings and cause death and
injury (Richter,1935).

According to some statistics, there may be an average of 500,000 earthquakes every year
but only about 100,000 can be felt and about 100 or so can cause damage each year. Earthquakes
are dreaded by everyone.
Try to answer the questions based on the text above !

True False Statement

1. Earthquakes happen when the land is in bad condition and strike with several signs (T/F)

2. The seismic waves are created from the rapid release of energy due to the powerful movement
(T/F)

3. The earthquakes sometimes repeat over a long period of time (T/F)

4. Aftershocks are the vibrations from substantial earthquakes last for five days (T/F)

Short Answers

1. The earthquake as one of the natural hazards may caused ..............................................

2. The powerful movement of rocks creates ...........................

3. The earthquake can be categorized as ..................................

4. The small earthquake may cause ............................................